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墨書 Inktalez
Zhang Bi took the pill but did not swallow it immediately. Instead, he brought it close to his nose and took a deep sniff, then furrowed his brow and asked Ye Chenfeng, "Why does this thing smell like sheep dung?"
"You smell something bad?"
Zhang Bi nodded honestly, "It smells like grass."
Ye Chenfeng nodded seriously and clapped his hands, saying, "Uncle, you're right to smell that. It means your rabies virus hasn't fully spread yet. Whether you take it or not is up to you."
Given his age, Zhang Bi certainly knew about rabies. He had not only heard of it but had also witnessed rabies patients who had been bitten by mad dogs. Their transformation into rabid creatures was terrifying—foaming at the mouth, baring their teeth, and biting anyone in sight.
Zhang Bi pinched the pill between his fingers, filled with disdain. However, he still had to furrow his brows, close his eyes, and shove the pill into his mouth. He endured the foul and slightly sour taste and swallowed it whole.
Ye Chenfeng thought to himself: To be honest, this is indeed the sheep dung pellet from Zhanglin Village. I do have the Ghost-Collecting Gourd on me, but the pill is genuinely not mine.
After swallowing the pill, which was no bigger than a grain of rice, Zhang Bi felt as if his insides were churning violently. It was extremely uncomfortable; he wanted to vomit but couldn't. In a hurry, he scooped up a ladle of water and gulped down half of it. Only then did he feel that the pill had truly settled in his stomach, which made him feel a bit better.
With the pill down, he felt less fearful due to the psychological effect.
Suddenly, Zhang Bi remembered the bride Ye Chenfeng had taken away and asked, "Did you capture the Bride Demon?"
Ye Chenfeng waved the Ghost-Collecting Gourd in front of Zhang Bi and said, "She's here; do you want to take a look?"
Zhang Bi glanced suspiciously at the Ghost-Collecting Gourd but ultimately shook his head and said, "I'd rather not." Then he recalled that Ye Chenfeng had mentioned going to collect ghosts in the woods tonight and pressed further, "Are you really going to collect ghosts tonight?"
"Of course! I must go. Collecting money for exorcising disasters is a matter of duty..."
When money was mentioned, Zhang Bi felt guilty. They hadn't paid Ye Chenfeng a single cent; it was clear from his words that he intended to collect money for helping people. He rubbed his pointed chin while his eyes darted around. He quietly began to think about taking advantage of the village chief; after all, during that big incident, the chief had made quite a profit. This time he could seize an opportunity to get some benefits.
"Younger man, I can't let you work for free either. How about you come with me to visit the village chief..." As Zhang Bi spoke, he winked at Ye Chenfeng as if hinting at something.
Ye Chenfeng noticed that it was getting late and there was still no news from Qin Keqing and the others. If they couldn't uncover the truth behind the deaths of five people from Sun Family Coffin Shop soon, none of them would be able to leave safely from here.
In Ye Chenfeng's pocket, there was a piece of red cloth stained with blood, inscribed with a blood message: "Of the five members of the Sun Family, only one survives. The rest perished in the fire. I will find the arsonist to avenge my family, and only then will I ensure your safe passage out of Zhanglin Village. Otherwise, do not blame me for being unkind; Red-Clothed Ghost."
He was not afraid of the Red-Clothed Ghost's threat; rather, he feared that his friends might get involved. Moreover, Ding Li was also here. No matter how hard Ye Chenfeng tried, it was impossible for him to protect everyone completely.
Now he understood that Zhanglin Village not only harbored evil entities but also a naturally occurring toxic miasma.
This miasma originated from the mountains and descended at certain times, enveloping Zhanglin Village in a thick haze that lingered for long periods. Over time, the trees, livestock, and even the people suffered greatly from its effects.
Furthermore, inhaling this miasma would lead to hallucinations, similar to the initial sensation he experienced when he felt as if his face were covered in spider webs.
Zhanglin Village resembled a vast pit.
The villagers living in this pit never suspected that the forests they relied on for survival contained toxins.
As the miasma invaded the trees, it caused mutations. Ye Chenfeng extracted the mutated substances from the tree branches and mixed them into food to deal with Zhang Bi's dog, inducing hallucinations that drove it mad enough to attack its owner.
After a few minutes, once the contents in the dog's stomach were digested, it would return to normal.
Zhang Bi was kept in the dark and was terrified when he swallowed Ye Chenfeng's sheep dung pellets. Eagerly, he led Ye Chenfeng to the village chief's house. As they arrived at the chief's home under the thick night fog covering Zhanglin Village, they found him counting money with his wife.
The village chief, resembling a boss with rhinophyma and red like a strawberry placed on dough, meticulously examined each bill after moistening his fingers with saliva before reluctantly placing them into a wooden box prepared by his wife.
Every day, as night fell and silence enveloped the village, the chief would sit cross-legged on the kang with his wife and recount the bills once more.
His fingers dipped in saliva as he swiftly counted one bill after another. The total was correct; the stack remained thick. However, one bill had a small red stain that almost blended with its color.
Only the village chief knew that this little red mark was blood—
The village chief, with a nose as red as a strawberry on dough, found the old woman’s concerns amusing. She had a greedy glint in her eyes as she stared at the stack of cash, blinking her weary eyes and saying, "Old man, if we keep all this money in a wooden box, do you think it might one day just disappear?"
The village chief chuckled at her naivety. The contents of that wooden box were all his; everything was safe at home. There was no way it could vanish unless the bills turned to ash inside the box.
"Women are just foolish, thinking too little," he muttered.
He picked up the wooden box, preparing to place it back in its original spot—somewhere not easily discovered.
Zhanglin Village was quite backward; the people here loved money and enjoyed sleeping with women. They also liked to sit on wooden urinals dreaming away. The village chief's wooden box was hidden in a place no one would suspect: beneath a slab of blue stone under the wooden bucket where his wife, Aniu, sat.
This wooden urinal was not like the ones found in the city.
Anyone who had spent time in the countryside—or was from there—knew what a wooden urinal was. In many places, rural life had transitioned into urban living, with improvements in all aspects of life. Yet this remote Zhanglin Village still clung to its traditional ways.
The only change was that kerosene lamps had been replaced by electric lights.
During the day, the wooden urinal was used to water crops in the fields; at night, it served as a tool for women to relieve themselves. Just thinking about it was enough to make one cringe—was this sanitary? The village chief knew better! But the wooden urinal stank, and that was just how it was.
He believed this was the safest place for his money; no one would think to look there.
Just as he was securing the cash, their watchdog began barking fiercely, startling his wife into exclaiming, "Old man, someone is looking for you."
"Calm down! Just take a peek; don’t rush out yet. Let that beast greet them first."
The "beast" he referred to was their watchdog, who had its tail raised and ready to bite.
Zhang Bi also feared this watchdog of the village chief's. It was said to be related to Tibetan Mastiffs and was incredibly fierce—about the size of a calf.
The watchdog rattled its cage with loud clanging sounds, making Zhang Bi's heart race anxiously. Why hadn’t the village chief come to open the door yet? If that dog managed to break free from its cage, it would spell trouble for everyone involved.
The Chief of Drunken Nose Village finally secured the money.
His stout and plump wife, resembling a brown bear, slowly responded, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Zhang Bi.”
“What are you doing here at this hour?” the bear-like village chief's wife grumbled, waddling toward the door like a crab.
And indeed, that dog was truly loyal to its master. Upon hearing the bear woman’s voice, it whimpered softly and lay down in its cage, ceasing its barking.
“Is my brother home?” Zhang Bi called out to the bear woman, a gesture of respect. The bear woman wasn’t particularly attractive; she had all the features typical of women, and after decades with the village chief, they had lost one child after another, leaving them without any offspring to cherish.
People from Zhanglin Village whispered that the village chief was heartless and corrupt, which was why he had no descendants.
The village chief's bear-like wife opened the door.
She looked at Zhang Bi and then at the handsome young man behind him, breaking into a wide grin as she said, “What a rare guest! A visitor from the city, please come in.”
Seeing that the bear woman welcomed Ye Chenfeng but not him, Zhang Bi cursed inwardly: Damn you, you old hag! What do you think you can do with that pretty boy from the city? Be careful or the village chief will have your ugly ass killed.
Hearing that a young Taoist had arrived, the Chief of Drunken Nose Village hurried out with a beaming smile. He instructed his wife to brew tea and bring out chairs to settle their guests.
After some unspoken pleasantries, Zhang Bi got straight to the point: “Village Chief, my brother, the Taoist is going to exorcise ghosts tonight. How should we express our gratitude?”
The village chief looked at Zhang Bi and then at Ye Chenfeng. His fish-like eyes twinkled as a new idea struck him. He said, “That’s easy. The Taoist is here to bring blessings to Zhanglin Village by driving away evil spirits. We should rally all the villagers for a collective fund.”
The people of Zhanglin Village were so poor they could barely afford to cover themselves; how could they contribute? Zhang Bi realized that the village chief was trying to squeeze every last penny while benefiting himself. He felt furious but knew better than to speak ill of someone who wouldn’t help him.
“Forget about fundraising; I just hope you can accompany me to a place,” Ye Chenfeng interjected, indicating he didn’t want any money. This surprised both Zhang Bi and the village chief and left them feeling somewhat disappointed.
No money needed to exorcise ghosts.
Zhang Bi's calculations were clearly off.
The Drunken Nose Village Chief also felt it was a pity.
"Where are we going?" the Drunken Nose Village Chief pressed for an answer.
"You'll know when you get there," Ye Chenfeng seemed reluctant to reveal the location. It was somewhere around their Zhanglin Village, anyway!
He was doing a good deed, helping to exorcise ghosts without asking for payment.
Zhang Bi had nothing more to say to the village chief. He could only quickly pack up and set off with Ye Chenfeng to that place.
The winding, bumpy mountain road was nothing unusual for Zhang Bi and the Drunken Nose Village Chief. For Ye Chenfeng, it posed a bit of difficulty, but fortunately, he had brought a powerful flashlight.
This flashlight had an extraordinary penetrating power, like a beam of energy that could pierce through one's heart.
Ye Chenfeng intentionally or unintentionally waved the flashlight back and forth in front of Zhang Bi and the Drunken Nose Village Chief's faces, dazzling them so much that they nearly stumbled into the ditches by the roadside several times.
With their vision blurred, even seeing the road became a challenge. In the end, they still had to rely on the outsider Ye Chenfeng to lead the way.
Thus, Ye Chenfeng successfully guided Zhang Bi and the Drunken Nose Village Chief to the entrance of the Sun Family Coffin Shop, while they both continued to ask, "Where are we?"
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